The ICT Specialist is responsible for carrying out broad ICT functions, including Technology for Development (T4D), and enabling the provision of ICT solutions and services and assisting in the delivery of results in a large size office, including support to field offices.

Summary of Key Functions and Accountabilities:

• Coordinate the Technology for Development (T4D) Function and Provide Technical and Programmatic Support
• Business Relationship Management: Coordinate Business and Programme Relationship services to define high-level requirements; document and match requirements and guide the design, development and deployment of appropriate T4D solutions.
• Portfolio coordination: Coordinate deployment of a portfolio approach to solutions prioritised for UNICEF programming (e.g. Digital Public Goods).
• Support and assist design of T4D interventions: Provide support and technical assistance to the Country Office in the identification, selection, concept design, deployment and sustainability of T4D interventions to address bottlenecks towards the achievement of programme results.
• Identify and assess new Technology and Digital Innovations: Guide programme sections to identify and assess new T4D initiatives, new phases of on-going initiatives, and opportunities to develop and promote digital public goods, with immediate potential to improve UNICEF programming.
• Solution procurement and evaluation: Guide on the review of technical solutions to ensure UNICEF standards are followed; contribute to project management processes, generation and review of terms of reference and vendor selection.
• Deployment advice and support: Advise and assist with implementation strategy of digital technology initiatives. Including technical oversight, troubleshooting and the documentation of challenges and resolutions.
• Design thinking: Support human/user-centred design methods to enable user-acceptance testing, evaluation,documentation and analysis.

Policy and Strategic Development for Technology-enabled Programming:

• Digital development and technology innovation strategy: Guide on digital development and technology innovation strategy for the country office; including assessment of T4D gaps, opportunities and scale-up strategy in support of CO priorities.
• Participation in programme and management processes: Integrate digital development and technology innovation into the programme planning lifecycle. Align with programme priorities and attend planning meetings to exercise T4D functional accountabilities.
• Quality assurance: Coordinate development and quality assurance during planning and deployment of T4D initiatives; participate in establishing and maintaining standards, documentation and support mechanisms for T4D.

Engage and Maintain Partnerships and Networks:

• Engage and maintain partnerships and networks: Develop partnerships and networks ensuring strong engagement with local solution providers, innovators, NGOs, cultural and religious organisations, private sector, local media, ICT authorities, communications commissions, and academia to build and provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative technologies and build local capacity.
• Advocacy and communications: Represent the country office in external, inter-agency or partner forums on digital development and technology innovation.
• Proposal and partnership development: Identify opportunities for resource mobilisation and new partnerships and lead proposal and partnership development efforts in close collaboration with regional office, where applicable.
• Provide advice and support to programme partners: Provide technical and operational support to a wide range of stakeholders and partners on UNICEF policies, practices, standards and norms on technology for development.
• Standards and procedures for ownership: Work with stakeholders to help develop standards, procedures and partnerships for T4D interventions and their transition to relevant government and civil society Institutions.
• Transfer and skill-sharing for programme partners: Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with government counterparts and national stakeholders through active sharing and transfer of knowledge, skills and tools to foster and facilitate technology-enabled programming.
• Document localized partners and profiles: Develop a catalogue of potential country specific T4D partners and their profiles/areas of engagement to promote and enhance UNICEF goals for outcomes for children through T4D.

Knowledge Management:

• Share lessons learned: Identify, capture, synthesize and share lessons learned from T4D for integration into broader knowledge development planning, advocacy and communication efforts.
• Landscape mapping: Maintain an inventory of technology and innovation interventions, assets, resources and networks.
• Monitoring, evaluation and learning: Work with Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation focal points to ensure documentation and clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for innovation and T4D projects including baseline data collection, on-going monitoring, as well as first phase data collection and analysis.
• Contribute to Peer Support Networks: Contribute and share to regional and global digital development and technology innovation networks and activities.

Capacity Building:

• Data analysis for evidence generation: Build capacity of office staff in analysing the large amounts of data generated through T4D initiatives including the use of data visualization techniques and analytics tools.
• Co-create appropriate solutions: Work directly with section chiefs to co-create strategies on how technology and innovation can support the country programme.
• Provide training to stakeholders and end-users: Participate as resource person in capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies, capacity and knowledge within the office on digital development; train UNICEF staff, partners, government counterparts and other end users in digital development and technology innovation.
• Build awareness around innovation and frontier technology: Develop capabilities within country office on appropriate use of frontier technology and innovations such as UAVs, wearables, IoTs, mobile money, blockchain, etc.

Leadership and People Management:

• Strategically lead, supervise, develop, and empower staff under supervision: Promote culture of performance management, providing timely guidance, feedback and support to supervisees. Promote a team environment of staff well-being, accessibility and inclusion.
• Monitor work progress and ensures results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards: Develop work plans and targets based on strategic division and organizational priorities.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Digital Transformation, Business Analysis, ICT Management, Computer Science, Innovation, Digital Development, International Development or another relevant technical field.
• A first University Degree in a relevant field combined with 2 additional years of professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an Advanced University Degree.
• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) in a large international organization or corporation is required.
• Experience identifying, designing and implementing solutions for large-scale projects with technical components – including supervising external vendors and software developers; responsibility for business analysis, budgets, contracts, project management and procurement, etc. is required.
• Experience with ICT, mobile and web-based technologies, particularly designing or deploying tools appropriate to the region is required.
• Exposure to UNICEF, UN or other INGO programmatic areas, including health, nutrition, child protection and/or education.
• Experience in applying technical solutions to address programmatic issues is required.
• Experience in open source, mobile and emerging technology applied to UNICEF programme areas is highly desirable.
• Prior experience working in T4D/ICT4D program design, service design, and field deployment/implementation in developing countries is highly desirable.
• Experience with RapidPro, Primero, DHIS2, ODK and other global public good technologies, and deploying, maintaining and scaling these technologies is highly desirable.
• Developing country work experience and/or familiarity with emergency is considered an asset.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

Source: https://jobs.unicef.org/cw/en-us/job/564015